Step Carefully
by Peeet
Summary: 4. The Doctor and Ommera use avatars to view a spectacular triple star system from the Rock of Multiple Suns, but Ommera's avatar dies of radiation. The Doctor is overwhelmed with grief. He meets Crystelle, who valiantly finds Ommera and restores her as from the dead.
1. Choice

**Episode 4 Step Carefully**.

**1 Choice**.

The Doctor's companion, Ommera, is sweeping the floor. Not the Tardis floor! She sighs. Shortly she will be mopping it. Shackles clank at her ankles.  
How has it come to this? Stuck on a planet with no hope of ever getting home, or doing a job she might enjoy?

Three days earlier she had been entertained in the Doctor's Tardis. She had been given the choice of where to go. It had all seemed so hopeful. Something had gone wrong; very wrong. What could she work out from her recollections of that time?  
She had tripped. She remembered that. What had happened next and why was she here now?

* * *

**Three days earlier**.

We join the Doctor and Ommera in the Tardis Control room. They are playing Vibratile, a technicolour game like Rummikub or Dominoes, sitting on the floor. The tiles on Ommera's ledger drift across the floor and take up their new positions as she directs. The game is near completion.  
Ommera's last tile drifts across the floor to join a short line of other tiles. "I win!" she exclaims.

Ommera had met the Doctor one day when she had thought that the Tardis was a museum and wandered in accidentally. She has become the Doctor's companion and they are becoming better acquainted. The Doctor is enjoying her cooking. She misses sparring with her brother who died a few years earlier. She likes to wear a light purple body suit, and today is no exception.

"You're really good at this game," the Doctor affirms, "I really enjoy playing with you."

"I think we're well matched," Ommera confirms, hopefully.

The tiles re-box themselves. The Doctor and Ommera get up and go over to the park bench from Slint and sit down. The park bench is still in the Tardis from episode 2 _Lateness_ in this series.

"How much do you miss home?" the Doctor enquires gently.

"Very little now," Ommera replies, "I absolutely love being with you. And it's nice to know I can just go back there to when I left, if I really want to."

"What would you like to do now?" the Doctor asks. "We could go to see a triple star system; a fast-spinning binary star around a red star like yours. There's a blue neutron star, a white dwarf and a red giant? Or … we could see two planets crashing into each other? Or we could see a large gas giant planet explode and become a second sun in a solar system?" He likes Ommera and wants to impress her by showing her the universe.

"What a choice!" Ommera says, "I do miss the red star from Slint. Can I see the binary star with the red star?

"It is rather spectacular," the Doctor says, "there is a problem with it, though."

"What's that?" Ommera asks.

"Any human would inevitably die of the severe radiation," the Doctor says, "but… I have a solution!"

"What's that?", Ommera quips, "do you go at night?" Ommera laughs at her own joke.

The Doctor laughs with her. "No, silly. We can go as avatars."

"How would that work, then?" Ommera quizzes.

"Well, technically I wouldn't need to as I can regenerate, but I would spare my body that," the Doctor says. "No, there's a planet, Avian, where there is a theme park _Avatar Land_ where you can use an avatar to do any number of (usually) daft things – people use them to do daft stunts, mostly locally on the planet. We will travel, as avatars, to the star system in the Tardis. We can stand on a rock and see the suns for about a minute. Then we must go, or our avatar bodies will suffer too much damage from the intense energetic cosmic rays. When we get back our own bodies won't have suffered the damage, so we will step out fine."

The bit about regeneration goes over Ommera's head and she misses it. "Awesome. Sounds like a plan. So, we can view it for a minute and go?"

"Yes. Long enough to see the binary star rotate a few times, about ten seconds per rotation. No-one has ever done this before. It's a first. Not many _firsts_ about these days. How about it?"

"I'm in," Ommera enthuses.

The Doctor types a few characters on the Tardis console, presses a few buttons, and pulls a lever. The Tardis grinds.

They arrive on planet Avian. They look at one of the console monitors.

"The theme park is just over there," the Doctor says. He indicates on the monitor. "There are many other places where you can use different sorts of avatar, but this one can transmit via a Tardis portal so that we can take the avatar elsewhere while our own bodies are kept up to date with sensory information. At that level the avatar is just a robot with a transmitter."

The Doctor has a warning, "But there is a problem that means you must not die as an avatar before getting back to your avatar pod, or your host body may die. It's partly to do with the pummelling they give the host body when the avatar body encounters anything – that's just a normal feedback mechanism. Say, if someone is doing a stunt and falls too far, even their host body will be bruised. It's just how the avatars on Avian work."

"Yuk. That can't be right!" Ommera is a bit disgusted. "Isn't it a bit barbaric?"

"No. Without it you wouldn't get any feedback so you would trip over everything. A bit like being numb."

"Oh. Ok then," Ommera is rather dubious.

* * *

_Is it as safe as it sounds? Can they achieve their goal? Will all go according to plan?_


	2. Avatar Land

**2 Avatar Land**.

The Doctor and Ommera leave the Tardis. The Doctor clicks his fingers and the doors of the Tardis close automatically behind them. They don't need to look round to check.

The theme park 'Avatar Land' has a large figure of a purple avatar wearing a purple body suit above the entrance.

Ommera likes purple! "I'll feel at home here, I think!" she says.

The Doctor is pleased. "Just your colour!"

They enter the theme park under the large figure and approach a toll booth.

"Got to pay in advance here," the Doctor says.

"Is it expensive?" Ommera asks.

"No idea," the Doctor says. "I'm just using notes that the Tardis already has."

The Doctor hands over one deep purple note to the toll booth man. The toll booth man raises an eyebrow and starts counting out a lot of notes as change.

The notes are large, maybe the size of A4 folded lengthwise. Made of something stiffer than paper, more like cardboard! On the notes there is a digit one followed by dozens of zeroes! The notes are of different colours to denote their value; the Doctor is given several notes of each colour.

"You've wiped me out," the toll booth man complains. "You can have the rest later."

"Must have been a high value note?" Ommera asks.

"I think there's been some inflation here, too," the Doctor observes.

"How many zeroes are there on the notes?" Ommera asks.

"Too many to be bothered counting!" the toll booth man says gruffly.

"That's so funny!" Ommera giggles.

"We just know the value by the colour," says the toll booth man gruffly. "'Ere's your guide to your pod bunker. Pod bunker 369 for you." The toll booth man passes a chit to Ommera with the number 369 clearly emblazoned.

A worker guide approaches as the Doctor struggles to find a big enough pocket for all the change!

They are to be shown to a pod bunker by the worker guide. The worker guide takes the chit from Ommera. "Please just follow me," the worker guide says. "Your assigned pod bunker isn't far. Only a mile."

The corridor has full wall height red and white chevrons pointing back the way they have come.

There are junctions periodically in the corridor of a 'Y' nature. Small direction signs show the room number ranges for each corridor. Their worker guide knows the way.

They just seem to be walking in a corridor, but it doesn't look short, and it doesn't look long either. Maybe an optical illusion with the red and white chevrons on the walls.

"How big is the theme park?" Ommera asks.

"Miles, actually," the worker guide says, "but you don't notice it on the travellators."

"This isn't a travellator, it's just a corridor," Ommera points out.

They approach a 'Y' junction and the Worker Guide chooses which corridor to use.

"Surprised? We've already covered nearly a mile in those short seconds," the worker guide says.

"Wow," Ommera says, puzzled. "But I can't see it moving. I can't feel it moving?"

"Smooth travellator, heh?" the worker guide boasts. "Here's your assigned room. When you're done, just follow the red and white chevrons back to the entrance."

"Thank you," Ommera says.

The worker guide opens the door and they go in.

* * *

_Will everything be as they expect and hope? It seems a swish place, but will all the equipment work as planned? Will they even get there?_


	3. The Pod Room

**3 The Pod Room**.

The Pod room has light green walls, two large red pods and two large purple pods. The pods hum quietly. There is the red door with a full height white chevron (like the corridors) that they entered through with a sign _Way out_, and a purple door in the far wall with a sign _Stunts_. There is also a yellow-gold service door with a small notice saying, "No Admittance", but that door doesn't get a mention.

The worker guide says, "the purple door over there takes you to your very own pre-planned activity area. There's lots of space out there – that's why the theme park is so big – miles."

The worker guide pauses for them to take at least some of that in. "The Red door we've just come through takes you out to the corridor back to the entrance. When you're done you must come straight back to reception. And if anything goes wrong, any accidents, you must come straight to reception… Do you have any questions?"

"No, no thanks. That was great. Thank you," the Doctor says absently. He has been here before, so he has heard all that.

The worker guide leaves them.

"I'll summon the Tardis to be in here ready for us to use as avatars," the Doctor says. He presses a key fob summoner and the Tardis appears, grinding.

The Doctor opens the Tardis door. "The Tardis won't recognise us when we are avatars, so I'll open the door now," the Doctor says. "Into the body pods!"

They open the body pods and get in.

"Get yourself comfortable before closing the lid," the Doctor says. "There's a grab handle on the lid."

"I'm really looking forwards to this," Ommera says, "see you as an avatar!" Ommera wriggles to get comfortable, then reaches for the grab handle and pulls it to close the pod lid.

The purple avatar pods open and they get out of the avatar pods as avatars. Their avatars look a bit like them but are wearing a purple body suit. As Ommera was wearing a purple body suit before, she looks the same, except her avatar face and hair are purple. The Doctor's face and hair are purple, too.

They go into the Tardis.

* * *

_Can they travel as avatars_? _Will it all fall apart_? _How many things might go wrong_?


	4. The Rock of Multiple Suns

**4 The Rock of Multiple Suns**.

They use the Tardis to go to the rock of multiple suns. The Doctor types a few characters, presses a few buttons, and pulls a lever. The Tardis grinds.

"Here we are. The Rock of multiple suns," the Doctor is pleased to have got there, it had been a tricky journey to set up. "We can't name every rock - there would just be too many digits! But this rock is known by more people as it hasn't crashed into the suns in millennia. Shall we step out?"

"Wow. I'm looking forwards to this." Ommera says enthusiastically.

"The gravity is very low on this small rock," the Doctor cautions. "You will have to be a bit careful, so step carefully."

The Tardis has its back to the suns to protect itself and occupants.

They step out of the Tardis. Behind the Tardis there is the spectacular sight of the smaller suns rotating around each other rapidly (about every 10 seconds). The blue neutron star has a jet of material departing from it at both ends. Neither end is pointing anywhere near the rock! The white dwarf star is rotating around the blue neutron star. Beyond them there is a much larger red giant star.

"Wow, that's awesome," Ommera says, stepping away from the door of the Tardis. "What an amazing sight."

The gravity is low on the rock and Ommera steps to see better but drifts away from the rock slowly.

She can't get back and the Doctor can't reach her. The Doctor holds on to the Tardis door and tries to reach her. Just not.

"Oh help! I can't get back!" Ommera panics.

"I'll get a rope," the Doctor yells.

"Thank you," Ommera begins to relax. "It's a lovely view."

The Doctor goes back inside the Tardis and gets a rope. He ties one end to the Tardis and throws her the rope. Ommera is only a few metres away and catches the rope and hauls herself in.

By the time she gets back to the rock she has been out there for too long. Her avatar face is a bright red.

"Your avatar face is bright red," the Doctor is very concerned. "You've sustained damage. We need to get you in quickly."

"Let's go in, then," Ommera, worried says.

Ommera's avatar collapses suddenly and can't walk once the Tardis own gravity starts acting on them. The Doctor has difficulty dragging her to get her fully into the Tardis. He drags her until she is inside, and he can close the door.

"Remember," the Doctor says, "you mustn't die before getting back to the avatar pod."

Ommera's avatar groans. She is lying on her side on the floor where the Doctor left her.

The Doctor goes to the console, types a few characters and pulls a lever for the return journey.

"Return flight – always much easier," the Doctor is reassuring himself. The Tardis grinds and lands back on Avian in their pod bunker.

The Doctor goes to Ommera's avatar to take her to the purple avatar pod, but heartbreakingly Ommera's avatar dies in his arms before he has even opened the Tardis door.

"Don't die. I love you," the Doctor yells desperately.

The Doctor kisses Ommera's avatar, frantically, to encourage her to try to stay alive.

"You mustn't die," the Doctor cries anxiously. "I've got to get you back to the avatar pod."

The Doctor checks her avatar for signs of avatar life, then checks again. "How could it have gone so wrong? I've lost Ommera." The Doctor is heartbroken.

The Doctor carries her avatar's body back to the purple avatar pod. He puts Ommera's avatar body into her avatar pod. "I know it won't help to put the dead avatar body into the avatar pod, but it's all I can do." He then gets into his own avatar pod. He awakens and opens his own body pod and gets out.

The Doctor opens Ommera's body pod. Ommera's body is gone. No body.

"No body. She's dead," the Doctor sobs. He is devastated. "I've lost Ommera; died while she was in my care. My duty of care is in shreds, and I've lost Ommera."

He goes into the Tardis to mourn and happens to leave the door ajar.

* * *

Spoiler Point A in the story. Spoilers are at the end of the story. You will enjoy the story much better without spoilers the first time you read it!

* * *

**Moving on**.

Later, the Doctor is sitting on the Slint park bench in the Tardis with his head in his hands. Two hours have passed, then he is moved on by surly staff. They knock on the Tardis door briefly before one of the security guards pops his head round the open door.

"Can't hang around here mate," the surly security guard says. "It costs. We would have ejected you earlier, but you overpaid at the entrance booth. You only paid for so long. And they are interested in seeing you at the entrance booth. Oh, and you're not supposed to have this kit in here. Be off there!" With that the security staff close the Tardis door and head off.

The Doctor raises his head from his hands briefly to look across. "That's so unfair." He goes to the console and presses a few buttons carelessly on the Tardis console. The Tardis grinds.

* * *

_Disaster has struck, but what will the Doctor do now? Can his love for Ommera bring her back? In what capacity might she come back – just memories?_


	5. Tinsellite Company

**5 Tinsellite Company**.

The Tardis takes him to Tinsel where he sits on the Tinsel park bench mourning, gradually getting over it.

In the park at Tinsel there is a statue of a man down on both knees on sandy ground holding a book with a cross embossed in one hand and a floppy fish in the other hand. He carries a lamb around his shoulders. The ground and the figure are both brown. The sculpture is entitled _First step to faith or do you fall by the Way side_; and on a second line: _Share your burden with me_. It is evocative of Rodin's _The Thinker_.

Crystelle is a Tinsellite girl, she is younger than Ommera, rouged hair like Ommera had when she lived on Slint. Crystelle is wearing a very light blue body suit to match the sun cream she is wearing, the sun cream colour for the blue star. She is slight of build and small stature.

Crystelle comes up and sits by the Doctor on the Tinsel park bench and comforts him. She is very tactile and puts her arms around him and hugs him.

The Doctor decides on the spot that he might adopt her as his new travelling companion. It would be someone to help fill the aching void. It might be rebound, but sometimes it is difficult to see.

The Doctor looks up gradually to see Crystelle, he is red eyed.

"Would you like to see the universe?" the Doctor asks, tentatively. "Other planets?"

As yet, Crystelle can't imagine how that might be. How can this grieving chap actually fulfil what he has just offered? She decides she will just humour him. "Wow, yes?" she says uncertainly.

The Doctor gets up and indicates that he wants to go into the Tardis.

They go into the Tardis and close the doors.

Crystelle is initially busying herself with finding out how to distract the Doctor from his grief. She doesn't notice the Tardis dimensions.

The Doctor presses the _Voice Control_ button. One of the few times he really wants to use voice control.

"Please could you take us somewhere fun," the Doctor asks melancholically.

"Sounds nice," Crystelle says. "Shall we put up some bunting?"

The Tardis grinds as the Doctor says, "No, we'll just step out of the door." He turns off the voice control, just in case it triggers accidentally.

The Tardis randomly has taken them to an intergalactic cafe.

The Doctor smiles as he opens the Tardis door to reveal… a spaceship park.

Outside the Tardis there is a small collection of spacecraft, parked at respectful distances apart.

"That's not the park on Tinsel," Crystelle is puzzled. "What happened?"

"We moved," the Doctor says, smiling.

"Oh," Crystelle puzzles. "How have we done that?"

The Doctor can tell that Crystelle hasn't taken in the situation at all.

The Doctor walks to the Tardis console and asks the Tardis, "We've moved. Where are we?"

The Doctor presses a few buttons and peers at one of the console monitors. "Oh. We're just by a small intergalactic café."

"Will it cheer you up?" Crystelle asks, still far more concerned for the wellbeing of the Doctor.

"Yes. I probably need that," says the Doctor.

"Where do we go?" Crystelle asks. "It looks like a junk yard."

"Oh, these spacecraft all work, probably; some are just a bit old and rusty," the Doctor says. "They all got here under their own power… somehow."

"Let's find our way into the café," Crystelle says.

Crystelle puts her arm round the Doctor protectively as they walk over to the café door some distance away.

* * *

_Has the Doctor found a new companion? Is it rebound? Can the Doctor get over losing Ommera?_


	6. The Café

**6 The Café**.

They open the café door and step in. The café is large but rather dated and drab. It needs a lick of paint; and a refurb!

They walk across to the counter. The Doctor picks up a menu and looks at it. "Let's see what's on the menu."

"I hope it's cleaner than the café," Crystelle says dubiously.

"They have an _infusion_," the Doctor says more brightly. "That's probably a bit like tea."

"Oh, good," Crystelle says.

"Two infusions, please," the Doctor says.

"How are you paying?" the café attendant asks.

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that," the Doctor says.

"I'll give you one drink for free," the café attendant says.

"Thank you, that's most generous," the Doctor says.

"Haven't you got any money?" Crystelle asks.

"I just forgot. I'm sorry," the Doctor says.

"You've had a hard day," Crystelle says sympathetically. "We can share."

The café attendant produces one cup of something that looks like green tea.

"I really must thank you very much," the Doctor thanks him.

"That's ok," the café attendant says, "I get a lot of folk waltzing in here with no money, but actually – if they're rich enough to have a space craft to bring them here, they usually have money, so I'm quite safe to give the first cup. The folk are often quite thirsty. Then they're grateful. Then they get their money. Then they give me a massive tip!"

"That's a lovely idea to give the first cup," says Crystelle gratefully.

The café attendant retrieves a cup from a recess in a box like a microwave and places it before them, adding two straws.

"A big thank you," Crystelle smiles.

Crystelle picks up the cup and Crystelle and the Doctor walk over to a nearby table. They have a drink together, alternately sipping, and chat.

"Tell me about yourself," Crystelle says, hopefully.

"That could take a while," the Doctor says.

"Why are you so upset?" Crystelle asks.

Hesitantly the Doctor starts to confide. "I, erm, took my companion, who I liked very much, to see a triple star system. But she died."

"Oh, I'm very sorry to hear that," Crystelle says comfortingly.

"But it was all my fault," the Doctor says despondently. "There were far too many things to tell her. Too many things to go wrong."

"You can't do everything perfectly," Crystelle comforts him. "Did she suffer before you went there?"

"No. She was perfectly healthy," the Doctor owns.

"So - what happened?" Crystelle asks, now aware that there must have been an accident.

"We were using avatars to view a triple star system – in intense radiation – so that it wouldn't affect our host bodies. But she stayed out in the radiation far too long. We were standing on a rock and she stepped out too hard. The gravity couldn't hold her, and she started drifting away. I threw her a rope, but it was too late. Her avatar had suffered too much radiation and she died in only a minute. Her own host body dies with the avatar body. That's how it works there. That's their slogan."

"Gosh. That's a tragedy. I'm sorry," Crystelle is shocked.

Just then the Bicx commander enters the café.

"What?!" the Doctor exclaims under his breath.

"What's the matter?" Crystelle asks.

The Bicx commander sees the Doctor and heads over.

The Bicx commander talks to the Doctor, but the Doctor is busying himself explaining to Crystelle what has happened. So, the Doctor misses much of what the Bicx commander says.

The Doctor starts saying, "I last saw him being blown out of the sky over Slint!"

Meanwhile the Bicx commander is laughing affably, "Hah. You again. You're the one who left your companion on Avian. Fancy doing that! Was her name Ommera? I'm just off to do a bit of mining. You can't stop me!

Crystelle is listening to the Bicx commander.

The Doctor only hears the last bit about mining.

"Just you watch me," the Doctor retorts warningly.

"Hah!" the Bicx Commander derides the Doctor's warning and strides off.

"We should go now," Crystelle says urgently.

Crystelle almost drags the Doctor out of the café.

They walk quickly to the Tardis, back through the "parking lot".

"What's the matter?" the Doctor asks, flustered. "He was almost sociable."

Back in the Tardis Crystelle faces the Doctor. "What was the name of your companion?" asks Crystelle, gently but firmly. "Was it Ommera?"

"Yes. That's right," the Doctor says.

Crystelle embraces the Doctor. "What planet did you lose her on? Was it Avian?"

"Yes. Oh. I lost Ommera," the Doctor moans.

Crystelle lets go of the Doctor. "Doctor," she says, "please go and lie down for a bit. You've had a horrible day and you need to rest up."

The Doctor goes out of the Tardis control room to lie down.

Crystelle walks slowly over to the Tardis console. She soon realises that she has no chance of controlling the Tardis. The console is just so complicated.

"This is just so complicated," Crystelle says quietly. "I can't do anything to help the Doctor."

The Tardis highlights a button marked _Voice control_. Crystelle presses it.

"Can we go to Avian?" Crystelle asks. "It is just possible that Ommera is still there, alive. Can we go there before she loses all hope?"

The Tardis has been sad to lose Ommera and cheers up. The Tardis control room lights become brighter. The Tardis grinds and takes them to Avian.

Crystelle has to be the one to go out of the Tardis.

* * *

Spoiler Point B. Spoilers are at the end of the story. You will enjoy the story much better without spoilers the first time you read it!

* * *

_Is Ommera still alive? Is it possible? How might she be?_


	7. Avian

**7 Avian**.

Crystelle goes to the Tardis door and opens it. She is careful to leave it ajar so she can get back in.

The Tardis is somewhere within the Avatar Land service staff corridors.

Crystelle finds and chats to some guards. "Could you help me please? Could I ask you about the girl who was so famously left behind?"

The friendly guard laughs. "Yes, I'll take you to her. A lot of people ask to see her! Extraordinary! She'll be a celebrity!"

"Oh, thank you," Crystelle says. "I really appreciate that."

The friendly guard takes her along a corridor to the room Ommera is cleaning. There are a few tables along one side of the room with inverted chairs on them. The friendly guard enters with Crystelle. Ommera is mopping the floor.

"She has to mop the floors for her keep now," the friendly guard says. "Nearly the end of her shift. She just has to finish mopping this room. They're shackled as we had so many run-aways. Stowing away on visiting ships. We didn't have enough staff to run the place."

The friendly guard touches the rim of his hat with his forefinger and leaves.

Crystelle approaches Ommera.

"Excuse me," Crystelle asks. "How long have you been here for?"

Ommera stops mopping. "Three days, but it seems like a lifetime." She sighs.

"You're away from your home planet. I would be distressed in your position," Crystelle says. "Would you like to see the Doctor who left you here?"

"Yes. He's my only hope of ever getting off this planet," Ommera says. "It's not like I could walk home. I could never save enough for a passage off the planet, not on the wages they give here. Literally slave labour." Ommera indicates the shackles.

"How do you feel about the Doctor?" Crystelle asks carefully.

"I totally forgive him. It's not his fault," Ommera says. "He thought the host body died when the avatar body died. Cheap avatars if they had! That had been the slogan until recently when apparently the avatar manufacturers realised that this didn't always happen, so they stopped publishing the slogan. The slogan made it more daring for customers. But the avatar equipment wouldn't have transmitted the radiation problem to my body, so it wouldn't have mattered."

"So, you would like to see him," Crystelle says gently.

"Yes. But he's gone," Ommera says sadly. She sobs.

"The Doctor didn't know that you might be alive," Crystelle says. "He moped around for a while, then travelled to Tinsel and sat on the park bench there. I met him there. I'm from Tinsel. So…" Crystelle looks into Ommera's eyes. "Do you want to meet the doctor?"

It begins to dawn on Ommera that this girl might actually be showing a way for her to see the Doctor again. But she can't really hope for this.

"Yes, I would love to," Ommera says hopelessly. "But I can't hope to." She bursts out in floods of tears. She can't possibly work to complete her shift in that condition.

"I'll complete this mopping," Crystelle says kindly.

Crystelle mops the floor and rapidly completes Ommera's immediate task. "That's done. Done in a jiffy," Crystelle brightly says. "Where do you go when you've finished your shift?"

"I have to go to the shift guard," Ommera says drably. "Then they unshackle me."

Crystelle puts her arm round Ommera to comfort her. "You're in a very brown place. I would be, too, if I'd been through what you've gone through."

"I'm sorry. It has been awful," Ommera says bleakly.

They go to the shift guard. "You've finished your task. Ok. Time for your relaxation time."

"Hardly relaxation," Ommera says glumly. She clearly hasn't recognised that Crystelle is offering her a way out, and to meet the Doctor again.

The shift guard unshackles her, and she must go directly into the worker's quarters. The guard directs her. "Through there."

Crystelle dodges past the guards and takes Ommera's hand. "I'm getting you out of here."

"How?" Ommera asks, bewildered. "Thank you."

Crystelle explains how she plans to get Ommera out. "I'll chat to the guards to distract them, and you go past them while they aren't looking."

**Finding the Tardis – Run to Room 369**.

They are in the service corridors. Ommera runs to where the Tardis was parked when she was there with the Doctor. Room 369. Crystelle has to rapidly follow to keep in sight of her.

**Finding the Tardis – Not in Room 369**.

They enter room 369 through the yellow-gold service door. No Tardis.

Crystelle puts her arm round Ommera. "It's moved. It's in one of the service corridors."

Crystelle and Ommera go back through the service door.

**Finding the Tardis**.

Crystelle leads Ommera through corridors. They are walking now. She takes Ommera to where the Tardis is now. Ommera lets out a whoop of delight when she sees the Tardis.

* * *

_We have a yippee moment. How might things work out? What might Crystelle do?_


	8. Reunited

**8 Reunited**.

They both walk into the Tardis.

The Doctor has returned to the Tardis control room and is sitting on the Slint park bench in the Tardis command room.

He is in a brown mood and is moping. Head in hands.

Ommera sits down silently smiling and excited on one side of him and Crystelle sits on the other side of him.

The Doctor gradually realises that there are two people with him.

He turns to the Tinsellite girl, Crystelle.

"What's happened?" the Doctor asks.

"Look over there," Crystelle says gently.

The Doctor turns his head. "Ommera?" he says disbelievingly.

Ommera giggles. "Hello Doctor."

The Doctor and Ommera hug and kiss. Both are in tears of joy.

After a while, the Doctor turns to Crystelle. "How? How did you get her back?" he asks incredulously.

"You won't like this..." Crystelle starts off. "The Bicx commander said... actually he taunted you. You missed it while you were whispering to me what had happened."

"Surely we don't owe our re-union to the Bicx commander?!" Ommera asks scornfully.

"He only gave me an idea," Crystelle says.

The Doctor hugs and kisses the Tinsellite girl, Crystelle, much to her delight. "You deserve a medal for what you did!"

In massive delight the Doctor introduces them to each other. "Ommera, please meet Crystelle. Crystelle, please meet Ommera. Thank you, thank you!"

The Doctor hugs Crystelle and then Ommera.

Ommera holds the Doctor in embrace. "You need to pull yourself together, Doctor," she says gently but sternly.

Ommera rubs noses with the Doctor.

Crystelle giggles, "I haven't seen nose rubbing before. It looks fun. Can I try?"

Crystelle rubs noses with the Doctor. They both laugh.

Ommera wants to treat Crystelle. "Come and see the wardrobe section of the Tardis. I discovered it on my first day. It's incredible."

"That sounds like a great treat," Crystelle says excitedly.

Ommera takes Crystelle to see the wardrobe section of the Tardis where they try on mediaeval gowns.

"These are so beautiful," Ommera says, giggling with delight. "I just have to show you."

Crystelle turns to Ommera.

"He's been so glum all the brief time I've known him," Crystelle says, smiling. "Now he's all lit up seeing you, Ommera. I think he loves you."

"I think he does," Ommera says. "I love him. The last thing I heard from my avatar was the Doctor saying, I love you."

"There you go, then," Crystelle says. "I've not had time to wash all of the rouging out of my hair yet. I'll do it now."

"But, the Doctor is rather negative when I raise relationships with him," Ommera says. "He doesn't seem to want to settle down with anyone. He says it is much too dangerous… His life is busy defending planets; I've seen it – he defended my planet, Slint. That Bicx commander gets blown out of the sky! So, I can see his point. I just wish there was a way for him to find some rest and settle down for a while."

"I'm sorry it isn't all rosy," Crystelle says. "But you can cheer him up no end! Seeing you was a real tonic for him. I wonder how old he is?"

"Do you know, I've no idea!" Ommera says. "I suppose I should ask him sometime."

"I'll ask him for you," Crystelle promises. "I'll wash my hair just now."

* * *

_What will the Doctor own as his age? Will the Doctor own more of his affection for Ommera? How will he limit how far he permits himself to go?_


	9. Simplifications

**9 Simplifications**.

Back in the Tardis control room the Doctor is mulling things over.

"I think the Tardis had something to do with the rescue," the Doctor says under his breath. "I think the Tardis really likes Ommera."

The Tardis is listening and rewards him with an ice cream. The Doctor smiles as he lifts the ice cream from the Tardis console. "Good old ice cream. You really know my weak spots. Suppose you should do; we've been together for long enough. Thank you. I really must thank you more."

Ommera and Crystelle dash into the Tardis control room laughing and wearing mediaeval gowns.

Crystelle has washed the rouge out of her hair so it is now her natural light brown colour, not too different from Ommera's hair. She runs her hand down the dress. "Are these originals? They are so finely made."

"No idea," the Doctor says. "The Tardis just has them. Crystelle, do tell me all about your amazing rescue mission today."

"It was only a bit of deduction?" Crystelle is being bashful.

"A bit more than that," the Doctor encourages her. "How did you get the Tardis to go to Avian? How did you find her? What did you say to her?"

"Er, I just told the Tardis what had happened," Crystelle makes it sound easy. "The Tardis took us to Avian."

"Ah, the voice control," the Doctor smiles. He has rarely used this, but now he has to admit that it has its uses.

Ommera smiles and says, "So useful! You must keep it on all the time."

"Then I just asked a friendly guard," Crystelle says modestly.

"Wow; so simple," the Doctor is surprised.

"Crystelle distracted a few guards while I slipped past," Ommera adds.

"A big well done!" the Doctor says brightly.

Crystelle winks at Ommera. "Ommera, could you get one of those tiaras we found? It would look great with this dress."

Ommera takes the cue, "Yes, it would. I'll just get one."

Ommera goes out of the Tardis Control Room towards the Wardrobe section.

The Doctor sees through this thinly veiled move by Crystelle to get him on his own. "Ok, Crystelle, so – what is it you want to ask me?"

Crystelle is only briefly taken aback. "Oh, er, I was going to ask you how old you are. You can't leap around the universe for ever. You deserve to settle down."

"Are you asking for your own curiosity or for Ommera?" the Doctor asks.

Crystelle feels she must just be totally open. "Ok, I… happened to ask Ommera and she didn't know. But I am asking for her to know."

"Ok. Thank you for your honesty," the Doctor pauses. "I think I'm around two thousand seven hundred give or take a few billion years."

Crystelle thinks he is jesting and humours him. She giggles. "Give or take a little."

"Well, it isn't as simple as that," the Doctor says. "But having a time machine isn't all there is to it. You know I'm not human?"

Crystelle again thinks he is jesting and humours him. "No? But which planet are you from?"

"Gallifrey," the Doctor smiles kindly. "Although that makes me a Gallifreyan, it doesn't make me human. I'm a Time Lord."

This persisted line unsettles Crystelle. She starts to see that the Doctor might be serious. "So, you've been around for a bit?"

"One of the things about being a Time Lord is that we can regenerate," the Doctor says. "It happens when we need to rejuvenate our bodies. We take a different face and personality. I haven't always looked like this, and I won't always look like this." The Doctor smiles and indicates his face.

"Doctor, you told Ommera that you loved her. When you were in avatars," Crystelle wants to try to go further.

"Oh, I was trying to get her to stay in the land of the living," the Doctor excuses his words, but he does feel a lot for Ommera. He has realised that appreciably recently. "She needed all the encouragement she could get."

"Was that all it was?" Crystelle knows it was much more than that. The depth of the Doctor's sorrow at losing Ommera was testament to that.

"No. You are right, I do love Ommera," the Doctor owns. "She is wonderful. But… I will outlive her. And it really isn't safe wherever I am. You haven't seen it yet. Ommera has seen something of it. I can't offer her any safe place. My enemies will track me down. She might be held hostage or anything. She deserves somewhere nice and safe to settle down."

Ommera enters and steps quietly across to the bench during the next few moments.

The Doctor sees Ommera and decides to generalise. He changes the question from age to travel.

"Yes. I've not only visited a lot of places; I've had a large part to play in their histories. I've learnt when to intervene and when to step back and let things take their course. Particularly if it is a fixed point in time. When I see interference from outside I tend to intervene. But some other times it is hard not to intervene."

"So, how old are you?" Ommera asks.

"How old would you say that I look?" the Doctor asks.

"About 30?" Ommera guesses.

"But how old did you say you were?" Crystelle challenges.

The Doctor chooses to ignore Crystelle's attempt to make him tell Ommera directly. "I feel about 30. However else old I might be, I can still feel about 30."

The Doctor indulges in some distraction. "Tardis, can we have ice creams all round please?"

The Tardis produces two more ice creams. The Doctor retrieves them from the console and passes them round.

Ommera changes the subject. "Can we show Crystelle the vibrant blue game, VibraTile?"

"Yes. Let's all play a game," the Doctor agrees.

The Tardis produces Vibratile, the Rummikub / Dominoes game that we saw in earlier episodes. The Doctor picks up the box from the Tardis console and places the box on the floor. The three enjoy watching the game start to set itself up. Tiles jump out of the box; flip themselves face down and drift across the floor. When any of them look at a tile it changes colour to the vibrant blue.

"Wow, that's so pretty," Crystelle admires the game.

"I love it!" says Ommera.

THE END

* * *

_Information note: __The previous episode_ _in this series is called "Lateness"_.  
_To search for it, please search for "scarifiers" as scarifiers try to start mining Ommera's home planet, Slint. Just what she feared_. _Or search for "Ommera"_.

_The next episode_ _in this series__ is called "Double Master Plan"_.


	10. Spoilers

**10 Spoilers**.

The previous chapter is the last chapter of the story.

This is purely explanatory text for parts of the story.

You will enjoy the story much better without spoilers the first time you read it!

They go towards explaining what was going on behind the scenes and why or how the story works.

* * *

Spoiler Point A. In chapter 4, The Rock of Multiple Suns, when the Doctor gets back to the Pod room.

The first-time reader may not notice, but here is the point at which the Doctor should have gone to the reception desk to report the problem. If he had done, he would have been told that Ommera was ok and he only had to collect her from a waiting room.

In his defence, the Doctor still had to move the Tardis. He had smuggled it in. He hadn't previously thought about having to leave it in the pod bunker room. And the Doctor totally believed that Ommera was dead, so what was the point?

Their initial instruction had been that when they were "done" to return immediately to reception. Ommera did this properly and promptly and so wasn't in the pod bunker when the Doctor returned.

There are mistakes made by the theme park, too. The security guard knew that the Doctor had overpaid but had not been briefed that there was someone waiting for him. Nevertheless, he did invite the Doctor to go to the entrance booth. Just that the Doctor couldn't see the point. And he may have felt guilty for potentially smuggling in his Tardis. Were they going to charge him more when he went there? He had overstayed.

* * *

Spoiler Point B. At the end of chapter 6, The Café.

One of the problems with voice control is that the Tardis can take you literally. Crystelle asks if they can go back to Avian "before Ommera loses all hope". The Tardis then goes to just before that time.

Actually, the elapsed time has been less than half a day for the Doctor – he lost Ommera in the later part of one day; he was moved on just two hours later since when he has only been briefly to Tinsel and briefly to the intergalactic café.

* * *

_Information note: __The previous episode_ _in this series is called "Lateness"_.  
_To search for it, please search for "scarifiers" as scarifiers try to start mining Ommera's home planet, Slint. Just what she feared_. _Or search for "Ommera"_.

_The next episode_ _in this series__ is called "Double Master Plan"_.


End file.
